Rock of ageless: Def Leppard guitarist's regimen

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen, of Laguna Hills, presented a $20,000 donation to the Gerson Institute in San Diego from the sale of an auctioned guitar he used on the latest Def Leppard tour. The institute is a nonprofit that teaches a diet-focused treatment for a variety of cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Collen also played songs for the gathering during the presentation.ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Details of the Gerson Therapy

Cancer patients are encouraged to eat a balanced diet. The Gerson Therapy is not approved by the FDA as a treatment for cancer or any other disease.

Where: The sickest patients who seek the therapy are treated at one of two Gerson clinics licensed by the institute: in Tijuana, and outside of Budapest, Hungary.

Therapy:After a couple of weeks, patients are encouraged to follow the therapy at home – to the letter. It requires:

• 13 servings of organic juice a day

• Three vegetarian meals a day

• Supplements

• Up to five coffee enemas, made from 8 ounces of hot coffee and 24 ounces of water

Controversy: The Gerson Institute says each enema not only relieves pain, but also helps the liver expel toxins from the body.

The American Cancer Society notes that too many enemas increase the risk of infection or injury, as well as electrolyte imbalance.

The people at the Gerson Institute, even its 90-year-old founder, are suddenly big Def Leppard fans.

Earlier this month, Phil Collen, the longtime guitarist for the iconic band, went to the institute's headquarters in the hip Normal Heights neighborhood of San Diego to deliver a $20,000 donation, most of it raised from the auction of a custom-built guitar. He then played four songs on his acoustic, including "Pour Some Sugar On Me."

For a few minutes, inside the walls of a former Wells Fargo bank branch, the '80s ruled again.

Collen, 54, could have given the money, and lent his name, to just about any nonprofit. But he chose one that fits with his belief that eating a healthy diet can make you feel better, keep illness at bay and live longer. Collen, who has lived in Laguna Hills for the past two decades, became a vegetarian in 1983, just as Def Leppard was rising from hair-metal heroes to pop-crossover superstars. He gave up drinking in 1987, after one too many benders that left him "legless" drunk and blacked out.

There are skeptics

Collen also is untroubled by the Gerson Institute's mixed reputation. The group claims it can help people with serious illnesses, including cancer, through a regimen that includes large quantities of organic fruit and vegetable juice, coffee enemas to help the liver cleanse the body of toxins, and nutritional supplements. The Gerson Therapy has many fervent believers, and the group cites case studies of people who say they've been cured of a range of diseases, including breast and pancreatic cancers. But there's little scientific evidence that the treatments work. Mainstream doctors say the therapy's low-sodium diet can be dangerous for some patients. The larger peril, doctors say, is that truly sick patients will pursue the Gerson regimen while ignoring traditional avenues of treatment that might give them a better shot at survival.

"It doesn't hurt to try," Collen says. "So it's a great thing. It can hurt having chemo. We know that. It can mess you up. Yeah, it can kill and destroy cancer tumors, which it does. But unfortunately it kills a lot of the other stuff with it. So what harm is it to actually eat right?

"Cancer feeds on sugar and salt," he adds. "It thrives on it. It's like you're just literally feeding it. We know that. You go to a hospital, when you come out, they'll tell you. They'll go, 'Well you should exercise and eat leafy greens.' They tell you all this, but we don't listen. We go straight back to the pizzeria, we eat cheese, we eat meat, we eat God knows what. And people just don't listen. ... If you're skeptical, just change your diet. What have you got to lose? And you've got everything to gain."

It's personal to him

This isn't just about one rocker's health. It's personal for the British-born Collen. His father, Kenneth, died of pancreatic cancer in 2004 at age 81. When his father was diagnosed, Collen flew to London and, he says, "actually had the best time with my dad that I'd had in our whole lives" while he tended to him. But the cancer took him quickly. There was nothing to be done.

"If I'd have known about the Gerson Institute back then ... ," Collen says, his voice trailing off. "Just even about what to do."

Collen says he went vegetarian, nearly 30 years ago, on principle. "I gave that up because it was like Jeffrey Dahmer's fridge. I would open it up and go 'Oh my god, there's a dead body in there.'"

His decision gave him an immediate surge of energy. He needed it, just to keep up with one of rock's most popular bands. Collen joined Def Leppard in 1982, replacing guitarist Pete Willis, who was fired for drinking too much. The band was recording the album "Pyromania," which produced a string of hits and set the stage for the wildly successful "Hysteria" album in 1987. The record spawned seven hit singles and sold 20 million copies, vaulting the group, and Collen, to international fame.

Related Links

Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen, of Laguna Hills, presented a $20,000 donation to the Gerson Institute in San Diego from the sale of an auctioned guitar he used on the latest Def Leppard tour. The institute is a nonprofit that teaches a diet-focused treatment for a variety of cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Collen also played songs for the gathering during the presentation. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen performs at a gathering at the Gerson Institute in San Diego. He presented a $20,000 check to the institute from the sale of an auctioned guitar used by Collen on the latest Def Leppard tour. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Charlotte Gerson, daughter of Gerson Institute founder Max Gerson, talks with Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen at the institute in San Diego. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Charlotte Gerson, left, receives a $20,000 check from Phil Collen, center, the lead guitarist of Def Leppard as guitar maker Jake Willoughby looks on. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Debbie Blackwell-Cook performs with Phil Collen at the Gerson Institute in San Diego. Blackwell-Cook is the godmother of Collen's wife, Helen Collen. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A gathering at the Gerson Institute applauds Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen in San Diego. Collen presented a $20,000 check to the institute from the sale of an auctioned guitar he used on the latest Def Leppard tour. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Phil Collen, left, and Jake Willoughby embrace after the presentation of a $20,000 check to the Gerson Institute in San Diego. It was Willoughby's idea to auction a signed guitar. Collen also played songs for the gathering at the presentation. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Phil Collen's wife Helen L. Simmons applauds her husband at the Gerson Institute in San Diego where he presented a $20,000 check to the institute. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen, of Laguna Hills, presented a $20,000 donation to the Gerson Institute in San Diego from the sale of an auctioned guitar he used on the latest Def Leppard tour. The institute is a nonprofit that teaches a diet-focused treatment for a variety of cancers, including pancreatic cancer. Collen also played songs for folks gathered at the presentation. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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